Source: KalingaTimes.com
In an exemplary show of communal amity, the Hindu devotees of Lord Jagannath temple in the heart of this port town have thrown open the temple gates to Muslims and followers of other religions.
At a time when frenzied religious intolerance and fanaticism is the order of the day, followers of divergent religious groups have unrestrained access into the temple for darshan.
The 60-foot tall 'Aruna Stambha' (the holy pillar erected near the temple entry gate for distant view of God) speaks the story itself. A concrete arch adorns the top of the pious pillar with the engraving holy symbols of major religions like Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Sikhism.
Though incredible it may sound, the Hindus of the coastal port town rub shoulder with Muslims and Christian devotees who throng the abode of Jagannath near the posh Madhuban locality.
The temple is comparatively new and bereft of architectural tone. There is no restriction or inhibition for Muslims to visit the temple since the day of its building in 1972, according to state endowment commission office sources.
The claim to fame of this Jagannath temple lies in the fact that Muslims do the Darshan of the Lord here unlike rest of the Hindu temples in the state, said Baishnab Mohanty, a senior member of the temple trustee board.
"After the port civil township came up in late sixties, some employees of the port trust volunteered to build the temple. With generous donation of all employees of the port trust, the temple was built in 1972. The donors then also included employees who were from minority communities," narrated Mohanty, a retired port trust employee.
"Then there was little divide on religious lines and we resolved to extend darshan rights to minority religious groups to reciprocate their generous help for the temple building.